About Frank Norman

I am a librarian in a biomedical research institute. I've been around a few years, long enough to know that exciting new things fall into the same familiar patterns. I'm interested in navigating a path for libraries as we move further from print to electronic resources to open research, and become more embedded in research workflows.

When I spot a problem then I start wondering what the solution is. It might be a bottleneck in some workflow, or a process that requires excessive effort to achieve a small effect. So I feel that there must be … Continue reading →

I attended the Second Workshop on Scientific Archives held at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, D.C. on the 13 & 14 August 2018. The first Workshop on Scientific Archives was held at EMBL in 2016, and was organised entirely by Anne-Flore … Continue reading →

This post is an account of what I did at work each day from Monday 17 September 2018 through to Friday 21 September 2018. The idea is to give an impression of the range of tasks I engage in. I’ve … Continue reading →

Blogpost by Kate Beeby and Frank Norman. Our funders’ open access policies mandate deposit of all primary research articles into Europe PubMed Central (ePMC). We opt for the Gold (immediate Open Access) route when we can, but if the publisher … Continue reading →

After leaving school I worked in a library for a year and was in the music and drama section for six months. Towards the end of that time I was trusted enough that they let me prepare some orders for … Continue reading →

The question Wikipedia suggests that open science began in the 17th century, with the start of the academic journal. Some say that open science started in 1957 with the establishment of the World Data Center system, for International Geophysical Year. … Continue reading →

This lablit novel is set in a research institute in north London. The story is centred on a virology research lab and its work. An old lady dies. A cat dies. More cats die – could it be suspicious? Artie … Continue reading →

The event I recently attended the launch of the EMBL archives, in its new purpose-built facility at the heart of the EMBL Heidelberg campus. Most of the audience were from EMBL but there a few scientific archivists there too, admiring … Continue reading →

Posted inArchives|Comments Off on A new scientific archive – launch and reflections

I think Fiona Fox’s recent question about preprints and their impact on science news reporting deserves more consideration. She calls for more discussion of the issue and of possible solutions. Preprints – good I’ve invested quite a bit of time … Continue reading →

My colleagues in the Communications are looking pleased and exhausted today. The Francis Crick Institute’s new website launched this morning. It’s had a complete overhaul of style, structure and content. I’ve not been closely involved but I know enough to … Continue reading →